E stover



May 30, 1933.

F. E. STOVER INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 Fl' f 8 Sheets-Sheet1 III INVENTOR FRANK E. srouER,

I/NBY Arroxuevs May 30, 1933. STQVER 1,911,250

INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FRANKE. STm/ER,

- ATTORNEYS F. E. STOVER May 30, 1933.

INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet.3

[NYE/V70? FRANK E. sTOVER,

ATTORNEYS May 30, 1933. F, STQVER 1,911,250

INCUBATOR dri inal Filed Oct. 31, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR FRANK?s'rovsn,

ATTORNEYS May 30, 1933. STQVER I 1,911,250

INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN TOR FRANKE. 5T0 um,

B Y W a A g ATTORNEYS May 30, 1933. 0 F. E.- STOVER 3 L2 INCUBATOROriginal Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 6/ ELF-- o 000000000000 00 0000000000 oqoo ooooo o o o o o 0 O 0 O 0C O O O O O 0 O 0 O O O 0 O OO O O O 0 O 0 O 0 O O O 0 O O O O O 0 CR0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O O O 0 INVENTORFRANK E.s'rovR.

ATTORN YS May 30, 1933; R' v 1,911,250

- INCUBATOR O ri ginal Filed Oct, 31, 1930 8 Sheets-She'et 7 lm/z'nraxFRANK E. STOVE'R,

AT TORNEYS May 30, 1933.

F. E. STOVER INCUBATOR Original Fil ed Oct. :51, 19:50

8 Sheets-Sheet 8 FRANK ESTOVER.

ATTORNEYS Patented May 30,

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlca FRANK E. STOVER, OI SPRINGIIELD,' OHIO,ASSIGNOB TO THE BUNDY INO'UBATOB COMPANY, OF SPBIN'GFIHJD, OHIO, ACORPORATION OF OHIO INGUBATOB Original application filed October 31, mo,Serial December 22, 1932.

My invention relates to incubators.

It is the object of my invention to provide a method of incubating andhatching which will provide adequate distribution of heat and moisturefor incubation and appropriate heat and moisture for hatching wherebythere, will be relatively low moisture during the incubation period toavoid sticky chicks and relatively high moisture during the hatchingperiod in order to provide a soft shell for easy hatching of the chicksfrom theshell; and to further insure that-transmission of disease isprevented by having the hatching separate from the incubation, but omedm a unitary structure in order that the apparatus may be operated as aunit.

It is a further object to provide an arrangement whereby excess heatduring the hatching period may be removed from the eggs in the hatchingperiod.

It is a further object of my invention to provide separate compartmentsand a common cabinet, an independent means for stirring the air andregulating the moisture 1n the respective compartments, as well as con-.trolling the temperature therein in order to provide independent controlin the single cabinet of a hatching compartment and incubationcompartment.

It is a further object to provide an arrange v ment by which the airfrom the stirrers will be delivered radially from the tips of thestirrers over the heating elements in the path of the stirrersperipherally arranged around the stirrer blades.

It is my object to provide means for scooping a portion of such heatedair from the cabinet and delivering it through a scoop into and througha humidifier and thence back into the cabinet in the path of the stirrerblades for stirring the humidified air in heated condition within thecabinet.

It is a further object to provide a common,- source of power, a masterswitch therefor" which is adapted to control the delivery of current tothe heating elements,-the delivery of current to the motor whichoperates the stirrer and humidifier, and the deliveryof current throughthe heating element switch that is thermostatically controlled.

No. 482,516. Divided and this application filed Serial No. 648,367.

This application is a division of my appliiggipn serial No. 492,516filed October 31,

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of the unitarycabinet with the doors of the incubation compartment and hatchingcompartment open.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a perspective of the incubating compartment with a portionof the trays removed showing the arrangement of the stirrer, heatingelements, and means for tilts ing the egg trays, two of the walls beingremoved for the purpose of illustration.

Figure 4 is a similar view with the tra s and tray carriers removed,showing in etall the arrangement of the stirrer, the heat ing elements,the outlet scoop for heated air and nlet port for heated, humidifiedair.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the dual arrangement of hatchingcompartments, one

Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a view similar to that in Figure 5, showing the door open onthe single cabis net and illustrating the movable track in position forguiding the single stack of trays out of the cabinet.

Figure 9 is a. perspective of the tray rack with the trays in position.H V

Figure 10 is a perspective of the tray Figure 1L is a perspective of thefloor of the hatching cabinet with the positioning rails and dischargetrack in position.

Figure 12 is a side elevation of the cover, in 7 section, of thehumidifier and of the electric z 1 connections, together with theswitch.

Figure 13 is a detail view of the air inlet adjustment.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 is the bottom of a cabinet, 2 andthe 3 the side walls thereof, 4 the top, and 5 the back. The

cabinet is divided into an incubation com- Eartment 6 and a hatchingcompartment .7

y the artition 8.

Suita le doors 9 control the incubation com artment and a similar dooror doors 10 the atching compartment.

The incubating compartment is provided with a frame-work consisting ofthe uprights 11 arranged in a pair at the front of the machine andattached to the top and bottom thereof by the cross plate 12 which isattached to the inside of the top and inside of the bottom of thehatching compartment 7. Mounted upon these vertical bars is a series ofcross bars or cross angle pieces 13, which support pivotally theactuation rods 14, the other ends of which are inserted in the trayholders 15 so that they will serve to rotate the tray holders which arepivotally mounted upon the uprights 16 at the bac of the cabinet. Thesetray holders are interconnected so that the w1ll be moved about theirpivots as a unit y the rods 17. To the rods 17 are connected apitman17a, cranks 176 on the rod 17 c which are actuated by the gears17d, shaft 17c and handle 17 f on the exterior of the cabinet. Thus thetrays can be tilted as a unit as shown in Figure 1. The turning meanshere described is similar to that claimed in copending application Ser.No. 418,823.

Behind the trays 15a at the back of the machine is a flat bladed stirrerhaving the blades 18 attached by the blades 19 to the axle 20. The ti sof these blades are designated 21. The b ades are located between thetrays and the rear wall 5 of the incubator. Mounted on this rear wall 5around the periphery of the blades 18 and adjacent the tips 21 there arethe diagonally disposed heating elements 22. The cables 23 for theseheating elements 22 are carried in the conduit 24. The air leaving thetips 21 of the blades 18 peripherally flows over the heating elements"In the path of this air which flows oif of the tips 21 of the blades 18over the heating elements 22 is a scoop 25 projecting into the cabinetthrough the rear wall 5.

Turning to Figure 12, it is noticed that this scoop delivers the heatedair through the opening 26, thence downwardly through the assagewa 27and over the pool of water 28 rom whic a supply is picked up anddelivered into the passageway 29 by the humidifier wheel 30 that islocated adjacent the opening 31. The air thence passes upwardly over thepartition 32 so as to insure deposition of any excess moisture andthence through the opening 33 downwardly throu h the passageway 34,having been freed of t e excess moisture and then discharges into thepassageway 35, which is shown in Figure 4. Th1s discharge is at rightangles to the flow of the air along the surface of the blades 18, andthence 'eggs in the incubatin over the heating elements 22. This causesa churning of the air within the compartment 6 and thorou' h movement ofthe-air between the eggs int e tilted trays. The trays are provided withtheusual wire mesh bottoms such as are shown in Figure 10 at 36. Theside walls of the tra smay be perforated with perforations 37.rdinarily, however, the compartment are placed in trays with so id sidewalls, while trays with perforated side walls are used in the hatchingcompartment for reasons hereinafter described.

Electric current is supplied by the cables 38 and 39 to the two poleswitch 40 controlled by the switch handle 41 within the switch box 41'.One pole of this switch is connected to the line 42 which leads to theheating elements. The return line from the heating elements 43 isconnected through the cable 44 to one side of the thermostaticallycontrolled switch 45. The other side of this switch desthe presentinvention.

The side of the two pole switch represented by the cable 42 is alsoconnected by the cable 52 to one side of the motor 53, the other side ofthe motor being connected by the cable 54 to the terminal 49. This motordrives the humidifier shaft 55 and the humidifier 30. The shaft 55drives the shaft 20 of the stirrer through suitable gearing.

The water 28in the pan 28a is supplied from the water bottle 286.

.Each hatching compartment and each incubating compartment is providedwith its own stirrer motor and humidifier with the necessary complementof switches to control the cutting in and cutting out of the heating 1to the floor, side walls and ack of the hatcha ing compartment. Theserails are arranged on three sides of the floor in spaced relationship tothe wall, of the cabinet. They serve to guide the wheel tray racks whichare thus positioned in spaced relationship with respect to the walls ofthe hatching compartment. This tray rack consists of front bottom plate57 mounted on casters 58 and having up-right cornerpieces 59. Thesecorner pieces carry the handles 60 and are joined together at the topwith a cross member 61.

The rear of the frame is similarly arran ed,

having parts with similar numbers. T; ese

- ture. The casters 58 are adapted to be guided into and out of thecabinet on the tracks 66 which are held together by cross pieces 67, oneof which is hinged by the hinges 68 to the outer edge of the bottom ofthe compartment. By thus positioning this portable rack of trays by theguard rail 56, the rack of trays can be brought closely adjacent to thestirrer and the heating element without danger of contact therewith,both because of the construction of the parts and because of the dangerof transmission of electric current through the metallic trays andframework.

As will be seen in Figure 6, in the case ofi the hatching compartmentwith the single portable rack of trays, the stirrer is mounted to oneside of the rack, opposite the circulation openings 37, and the stirringof air causes the air to percolate vertically through the eggs and wirebottom 36 and transversely through the eggs and openings 37. Where thereare two or more racks used the air is caused to move off of the ends ofthe blades, to churn the air, and to enter laterally as describedthrough the sides of the trays, although the stirrer is located at theback of the trays.

The trays themselves are separated by a vertical partition 69 andhorizontal top and bottom partitions 70 and 71 that extend horizontallybelow' the top and above the bottom, to a point within about eightinches of the plane of movement of the stirrer.

These partitions are located between the racks of trays, and insure themovement of the churned air in all directions, and the passage of airthrough the openings 37 in the sides of the trays.

It will be observed that the air inlet damper 51, controlled by the setscrew 50, adjusts the amount of air passing through the air inletopening 72.

In order to adjust the amount of humidity the water bottle 28b, mountedon the bracket 74, maybe adjusted up and down by the nut 75 on theadjusting screw 76, thereby adjusting the quantit of water in the pan28a. The amount 0 air passing through the humidifier, through theopening'26 .to the opening 35, may be adjusted by the damper 78 actuatedby the rod 77. This rod is adjusted by a clamp 79 actuated by a spring80.

It will be understood that any desired form of mechanism may be employedfor this purpose.

The'air withdrawn from the incubator is churned and mechanicallyagitated with the water 28 by the combined fan and agitator 30, whichserves to draw the air through the humidifier and to incorporate it withthe water.

Method of operation According. to the method of incubation that Ipractice in my incubator, I place the eggs in the incubating"compartment, tilt them from time to time, stir the air and churn it,cause it to percolate through the eggs and impart to it uniform heat byallowing the air to slip off of the flat blades of the stirrer over theheating elements. Thus all heated air is delivered radially from thestirrer, but being without any means to guide it, thereafter moves inirregular paths, is churned, mixed and difi'used throughout the cabinet.A certain portion passes out through the scoop as heretofore described,takes up moisture, is freed of surplus moisture and is returned near thecenter of the stirrer, whence it passes out again radially of theblades.

The humidity control and the amount of humidity in the incubatingcompartment are the essentials of my invention. I arran e the humidityfrom 78 to 80 degrees whi e maintaining the temperature at 99 degrees.lVhen the eggs are at the end of the 18th lay of incubation, I move themover into the hatching compartment where I increase the humidity from 84to 86 degrees while maintaining the temperature at 99 degrees. Thus bykeeping the humidit down during incubation, I prevent the chic s frombecomlng sticky and adhering to the shell, but upon being put into thehatching com artment, I can safely increase the moisture w ich softensthe shell and enables an easy hatch. The chick is then so far advancedat the 18th day that the increase in moisture does not have adisadvantageous result heretofore indicated of excess moisture duringincubation period. This cannot be avoided where the eggs being incubatedand eggs being hatched are in the same compartment. By using thecombined compartments of incubation with uniform heat and relatively lowhumidity and hatching with uniform heat and relatively high humidity, Isecure the new result of a very soft shell easily broken by the chickwhile at the same time the chick has adequate moisture durinitsincubation period, but not enough moisture to cause adherence to theshell. Of course, I get the further result of prevention of thetransmission of disease and of greatly increased cleanliness, as therefuse from hatchin is kept out of the incubation chamber. fly combiningthe two compartments in a single insulated cabinet of usualconstruction, I am' enabled to get the benefit of the heat in onecompartment with respect to the other. as the conduction from one to theother through the adjacent partition wall results in economy of thetotal heat. The hatching compartment can be'disinfected withoutdisturbing the progress of incubation.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my inventionsuch modifications as may be clearly embraced within the scope of myclaims and invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a method of incubating eggs in a chamber containing heated air inmotion, bringing some of such heated air into the presence of water,agitating the water and the air and discharging the water-laden air intothe incubator, thereby raising the mois ture content of all the air inthe incubator to the desired point.

2. In a method at incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitatingtheair in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid togetherto incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering the humidified air tothe air in the enclosure for further agitation.

. 3. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure,agitating the air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidif ing liquidtogether to incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering thehumidified air to the air in the enclosure for further a itation, andeffecting a relatively low humidity and high temperature while the eggsare incubating.

4. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitatingthe air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid togetherto incorporate the air and liquid, delivering the humidified air to theair in the enclosure for further agitation, effecting a relatively lowhumidity and high temperature while the eggs are incubating, andefiecting relatively higher humidity while hatching.

5. In a method of operating a mammoth incubator, placing eggsinanenclosure, heating the air to a constant temperature, stirring the airin the enclosure, humidifying the air to a relatively low humidity,moving the eggs to another enclosure, again heating the air in which theeggs are located, again stirring the air, again humidifyin the air to arelatively higher humidity wit outincreasing'the temperature and whilemaintaining it at the same constant.

, In testimony whereof; I aifix my signature.

FRANK E. STOVER.

5 DISCLAIMER 1,911,250.-Fran'lc E. Stover, Springfield, Ohio. INCUBATOR.Patent dated May 30, 1933.-Disclaimer filed July 15, 1935, by thepatentee, the assignee, The Bandy Incubator Company, consenting.

Hereby enters this disclaimer of claims 1,2, and 3, of the said patent,which are in the following words, to wit: I

1. In a method of incubating eggs in a chamber containing heated air'inmotion, bringing some of such heated air into'the presence of water,agitating the water and the air and discharging the water-laden air intothe incubator, thereby raising the moisture content of all the air inthe incubator to the desired point. 1

2. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitatingthe air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid togetherto incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering the humidified air tothe air in the enclosure for further agitation.

3. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitatingthe air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid togetherto incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering the humidified air tothe air in the enclosure for.

further agitation, and effecting a relatively low humidity and hightemperature while the eggs are incubating.

[Ofiicial Gazette August 6', 1.935.]

